A Smuggler and A Jedi 5/?
CHAPTER FIVE: SHU TORUN
Pairing; Luke Skywalker, Reader
Warning; we love a slow-burn, more kind of fluff/kind of angst. Off screen stuff that gets mentioned. more denial of feeling. miscommunication. still no kiss- you’ll get one i promise.
Word Count; 10.2k
ONE TWO THREE FOUR SIX
Summary; Queen Trios of Shu-Torun’s betrayal allowed the evil Galactic Empire to launch a surprise attack against the Rebel Alliance’s fleet, scattering the rebels and nearly crushing their heroic cause once and for all. Princess Leia Organa, Jedi-in-training Luke Skywalker, and smuggling duo (Y/n) (L/n) and Han Solo narrowly escaped the assault and reunited with the Alliance thanks to the aid of new allies. Now, Leia has a score to settle with the Empire- and with Queen Trios...
THIS IS NOT EDITED
oh my god?? the last comic-centered chapter?? we’re almost to the endgame now kids, and I CANNOT wait for this to pick up with the remaining chapters. Sorry for the long wait on this one! I had a busy July and August, but hopefully I’m back on my monthly post update :>> also this is probably one of the hardest to write for me. Empire Strikes Back here we gOoOooOo
While Meorti continued to fix the minor problems still present on the Falcon’s outer shell, Leia dragged your group into the main hold with furrowed eyebrows and stern eyes. Her hair was kept in a bun at the top of her head, but two smaller braids hung down from it. She wore a tight grey jumpsuit, a hood stitched into the top with her holster snuggly secured to her waist and upper hip.
You sat on the curved couch, legs thrown over Hans’ lap while picking slowly at the skin around your nails. Han had perched his legs on top of the game console, slowly pressing the tips of his fingers together while looking at Leia with raised eyebrows and thinned lips. Chewie separated you and Han from the others. Luke, who was sitting on the other edge of the couch, a tan jacket zipped up fully while his leg bounced. The two droids, never being apart from one another recently, were talking animatedly to each other.
In front of Leia was a bright red hologram of a planet. You’d made a whisper to Han about how it looked like a vegetable, but he could only spare a small, tight-lipped smile.
“This is Shu-Torun. It’s one of the primary Imperial resource sites in the whole galaxy,” she gestures to the red planet, “I think we can take it all down.”
Chewie barks out a response, and Luke shuffles in his seat, rolling his shoulders.
“It’s about time, after everything Queen Trios is responsible for.”
R2 spins his head, a series of whistles and beeps following, “what Artoo?” Threepio asks, “‘I never trusted her?’ this is a little late in the day to disown her, you-”
“This is a strategic attack! This is about hurting Imperial production. This is us seizing an opportunity that Trios didn’t realize she was giving us,” Leia’s glaring at the two droids, sighing as she looks back over the group once more, calming herself.
You smirk, rubbing your forehead, “and giving some much-needed payback for destroying most of the fleet, right?”
“This isn’t a revenge mission,” she emphasizes, “Or, not just a revenge mission.”
She raises her hands in surrender, rubbing her cheeks before turning back to the hologram, “At Mako-ta, when we sliced her ship’s computer, we gained access to much more than they realized. I have the full plans of Shu-Torun’s infrastructure. It’s a strange, intricate and fascinating system by which they colonized an entire hostile world-”
“Like those weird hill bugs on Kashyyyk,” Han jokes, elbowing your side.
“But it is also uniquely vulnerable It only takes a little push in the right place, and the whole system will come crashing down.”
“But safely?” Luke says, raising his hand with furrowed eyebrows. Leia doesn’t say anything, and Han slowly pushes your legs off of his lap, leaning to place his elbows on his knees.
“Kid’s got a point,” he smiles back at Leia. “Hey, princess, you haven’t gone full Darth Vader on us, have ya?”
She just waves her hand, rubbing at her eyes gently, “It’s not that kind of disaster. The population won't be hurt. Its perfect, we just need a handful of the right people.”
Luke stands from his place on the sofa, stretching his arms up to expose a small sliver of his stomach. “Great,” he says, “when can we begin?”
Leia frowns, shaking her head lightly, “No. I said we need the right people, a few more hands, and a couple of specialists.”
“Like who,” Han strains, resting his elbows on his knees. Turning back to the hologram, Leia points, “First, we need a shape-changer.”
Groaning, you let your head fall back, “Oh great.”
Han slaps your knee, pushing himself up from the couch, “what did Tunga say he was going to do next?”
Gralack was one of the outer planets you would rather not go back to if it was your choice. It was dark and most of the alleyways were slimy and the worst creatures lurked in the bars and clubs.
Being a dark and slimy planet, it was easy to land the Falcon and sneak into the back of a theatre. Since the show was going on, almost nobody was backstage. Crates and large bins of costumes and props littered the area, doors leading into changing rooms. You can faintly hear the show, Han walking closer to the side stage to watch what was going on.
“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me,” he grumbles, hands placed on his hips. Walking to his side, you have to slap a hand over your mouth to stop yourself from laughing.
It was a show about you guys. Humans dressed as Mon Calamari, and the others dressed as your group. You could pick out Tunga, though. Since it looked like Luke was the actor on stage.
“Oh, Luc Swordswinger!” an actor cries. You can’t help yourself, you let your laughter bubble past as you slap Han’s shoulder, hiding your face in his shirt. Tunga didn’t even have a lightsaber, it was a long light that illuminated a bright blue.
“Luc Swordswinger?” Han chuckles, watching the show play out.
You didn’t know where the others were, and when glancing back, you can see Luke and Leia peeking into other, empty, dressing rooms.
Han suddenly grabs your arm, pushing you towards stacked crates while whisper shouting to the others, waving his hands frantically.
“Troops are here! Hide!” is all he manages to say. Screams erupted in the main showroom, and background actors rushed to the back and out the only available door outside.
Luke, with furrowed eyebrows and worried eyes, tries to make his way over to you, but Leia grabs his arm to hide behind another stack of crates. You don’t look his way, but you can feel his eyes on you.
Tunga and the other actors run backstage, hiding behind anything that would conceal their bodies. Tunga, having dropped the visual of your Luke, rushes past and almost falls when sharply turning to hide.
“Everyone down on the floor,” a trooper yells, “you’re under arrest-”
You don't see it, but Leia tries to grab Luke’s arm as he stands, grabbing his saber from his belt and standing in the trooper’s way. Peering around the crate, you can count multiple beginning to the crowd.
“Back off and leave them alone.”
The main trooper, sighing as he relaxes his shoulders, steps closer to him, “C’mon, Tunga. We get it. You’re a famous actor, but you’re not going to intimidate us with a prop.”
Luke’s shoulders tense, and he frowns, igniting his lightsaber and immediately cutting down the group.
Standing, you grip your blaster and stand by his side, hearing the troopers from outside yelling to each other, “so,” you hum, sideglancing at the blonde, “you couldn’t play along?”
Scoffing, he rolls his shoulders, more troopers coming into view, “you would like that, wouldn’t you?”
“I would, yeah!” You scoff, shooting a trooper, “it won't kill you to relax for a second!”
He slices through another trooper, pushing him away with his boot, “we were relaxing for a whole month on that maker-forsaken planet, doing absolutely nothing!”
“Luke! (Y/n)! Let's go!” Leia yells, waving the both of you to the hallway that leads outside. Tunga waits for you, a smile on his face, “Your timing is as perfect as always, how did you find me?”
Leia pulls her hood back on, gesturing to the large poster on the wall, “You advertised the show.”
Han was leading the group, reading over the poster with squinted eyes. Lukes's hand pressed lightly to your lower back, and you fight the urge to slap him away.
“Luc Swordswinger? Really?”
Tunga only shrugs, “My agent recommended the name changes for tedious reasons involving contracts.”
“But Ham Nogo?!” Han stands, hand on his hip as he glares at the clawdite. Laughing, you push past Han to read over the name, slapping his back, “oh that's amazing!”
“Names are never my strong suit. And he’s a classically trained actor!” Tunga tries to defend himself, but its heard by deaf ears.
“It’s not like yours is any better,”: Han hisses, elbowing your side, “I mean come on-”
“We don’t have time for this,” Leia yells, grabbing Tunga’s arm to drag him towards the alley, “Tunga, we need your talents.”
Passing by the others, you’re still snickering with Han about the names and even the storyline of the play. While Leia explained a bit of the mission, you continued to tease Han, and he continued to elbow your side and try to defend his honor.
“To be honest, there are fewer credits in the rebel-hailing entertainment market than I was hoping,” Tunga sighs, “a new role a long way away from here, is most appealing.”
It would've been an understatement to say Chewie didn’t take the news of not being in the play well. He had his fuzzy paws wrapped around Tunga’s throat, lifting him a foot above the ground, shaking him violently. He was yelling, voice animated as he continued to shake the Clawdite.
“I’m sorry!” He cries, gripping Chewie’s fur, “There were simply too many parts! Someone had to be cut! And you never really felt like a speaking role, I-”
Wincing, you lay back on the couch, briefly covering your eyes when Chewie throws the other to the ground, throwing his hands up to yell more.
Han tries to step in, holding his hands in surrender, “Hey, look on the bright side, Chewie. If I’m Ham Nogo, you don't want to know what he’d have done to you.”
“Yeah, Chewie,” you speak up, smiling at the Wookiee, “mine was horrendous, you wouldn’t wanna be in the play anyways- it would taint your image.”
“Oh, (Y/n)!” Tunga cries from his spot on the floor, “you don’t mean that! My story was crafted with the utmost care and love!”
You wave him off, going back to picking at the skin around your nails, “uh-huh, sure Tunga.”
“So,” Han draws in a breath, “we have our shape-changer. Next stop?”
He drops down into his seat in front of the engineering station, spinning the chair around. Leia rubs her arms, crossing them as she leans against the hull, “normal rebel troops won’t be enough. We need people used to fighting in a hell world.”
Groaning, you let your head fall back, “But that planet is worse than Tatooine!”
Luke falls down onto the couch next to you, far enough away from you, crossing his arms, “so, back to Jedha.”
You hated Jedha more than you hated Tatooine. The planet always seemed to be in a dust storm and paired with constant lightning strikes, it made getting around extremely difficult. Instead of going with Han and Luke to the Temple on the other side of the planet, you went with Leia.
With your hood up as far as it could go, a cloak covering your chest and draping down your shoulders and back, you stood with your arms crossed, waiting for Benthic to arrive back from dealing with the remnants of the Empire.
“I hate this planet,” you grumble, squinting your eyes to try and keep the sharp sand out, but it failed.
She gives you a sympathetic smile, tilting her head, “its only for a while, you’ll survive.”
“Of course, I’ll survive,” you rub the sand from your cheeks, “doesn’t make staying here less terrible.”
Thankfully, Tognath was one of the languages you had learned through your years, working closely with a fellow smuggler for a year or two. It made listening in on Tognath conversations easy, grabbing information about a top-secret job or a product drop-off location.
“I thought we would have seen the last of the great rebel princess and her smuggler counterpart,” Benthic hisses, voice pitched higher and more robotic. You shivered when seeing him again, the insectoid-mammalian mix kind of freaked you out. There was a faint hiss when he breathed, and the metal weapons lined across his back and sides clanged against each other when he shifted.
“I presume you have more to ask of us.”
Leia pushed her hood off, turning to look him over for a moment, standing beside you closely, “Yes, I need the partisans elsewhere.”
Benthic tilts his head, beady eyes flickering over the others before settling on you for a moment, his breathing slow and steady, and his eyes flicker back to Leia.
“Our work is not yet finished. The Imperials still defile Jedha.”
More sand billows around, and you scrunch your face to avoid getting it into your eyes and nose.
“From what I understand, the Imperials are making a few last speculative mining missions.”
His hand extends towards her, head tilting, “After what they did to Jedha? So many dead? They can’t have this world.”
Scoffing, you push off your hood, “So its ego, then? Here I thought the partisans were the practical ones, not the romantics.”
Benthic’s hand moves to his belt, sliding a thick knife from one of its holsters, “Insulting us, also not practical.”
Leia’s eyebrows pinch, glaring at him while lightly grabbing your wrist.
“You stay here, and you deny the Emporer trinkets. You come with me, and you deny them the riches of a whole world.”
There's a pause, the knife slowly lowering until he slides it back into its holder, humming as he nods his head. “You make a compelling argument, we will prepare to evacuate.” He glances behind you both for a moment, “where are your other companions?”
Leia sighs, “Luke, had other business here.”
“Han’s joining him.”
Benthic doesn't say anything, only looks between you both before turning to begin evacuation. You finally let your chest settle, shaking out your hands while walking back out of the small camp they made in a ravine. Leia follows closely, her hand brushing yours until you both have to pull your hoods back up, stopping just before the ongoing storm.
“Trinkets and the whole world, eh?” You ask, glancing at Leia. She sighs, shoulders tensing slightly.
“What else should I have said?” her voice was low, just breaking over the thunder, “I persuaded them, that’s what matters.”
You both continue to wait in silence, occasionally brushing off the sand from your cheeks or from your eyes or lips. You can already feel it embedding under your nails, slipping up under your tunic and pants and into your shoes.
Finally, you suck in a breath and cross your arms, “I’m sorry about what happened on Hubin,” you clear your throat, shifting your feet, “with Han and everything.”
“I should’ve told you guys about the transmission and the planning, so its my fault too,” she smiles softly, leaning over to bump your shoulder, “I’m also sorry about Luke.”
Your heart pangs, but you brush it off.
“He was happy with her, she seemed to be happy too.”
“But you weren't happy, were you? Me and Han- whatever we were doing. And they,” she pauses, looking at you with furrowed eyebrows, “I’ve never seen you so quiet.”
“I was fine,” you pan, “Luke can be with whoever he wants.”
She steps closer, sighing, “but were you happy?”
You let your silence be the answer. Your throat hurts, your tongue pushing your cheek while looking into the sky to find the Falcon flying closer. You wanted to leave, you wanted to go back to Home One to relax before going to Shu-Torun.
Back on Home One, you sit on top of a crate of supplies waiting to be put into the Falcons storage bays. Meorti continued to work on the outer hull, testing wires and reworking some that didn’t work.
Luke kicked at a small piece of broken metal, crossing his arms, “I wish Sana didn’t have to make that run to the other side of the rim, but this is a great team. We’ve got nearly everyone we need.”
Leia settles her hands on her hips, “nearly isn’t good enough. We need a slicer. A good slicer.”
“I’m going to pretend to not be offended,” you tease, glaring over at her.
Scoffing, Han slaps your knee lightly, “the last time you tried to slice something, you overheated the entire system ad caused a lockdown.”
“Does anyone have any ideas?” Leia asks, rubbing her forehead.”
“That's always hard,” Meorti cuts in, talking over her shoulder. “At least half of them are criminals, and half the ones left are ex-criminals. I think there was a good one of the geist. People ask me why I got into engineering, and I tell them stories about slicers, they are awful people,” she rants, continuing her work on more wiring. Leia smiles, turning around to face the other woman.
“Meorti,” she hums, “are you a slicer?”
Meorti shrugs, turning in her spot, “well, I used to be. I kept up with the field and,” she catches herself ranting again, “why do you ask?”
“So, you’re finishing up with the Falcon. Looking for a new assignment?”
“What do you have in mind?”
You almost fall off the crates when jumping off to follow after Leia, who grabbed Meortis's hand and dragged her inside of the ship. You manage to push past the partisans and sit next to Tunga, who was sitting on the curved couch. Han stands beside you, and Luke next to him.
“This is not what I had in mind,” Meorti groans softly, standing between two partisans.
“Thanks, everyone, for joining us. I’m sorry about the secrecy, but its necessary. The rebellion has had patchy security recently,” Leia says, gathering everyone's attention.
“Together, we’re going to take down Shu-Torun.”
Benthic moves to stand in front of his group, humming, “hmm. The world of the queen who betrayed the rebellion. “ He reaches back down to grab his knife once more, spinning it in his grip, “The queen with blood on her hands. The queen who must be made an example of,” he moves to stand beside Leia, gesturing to her with the tip of his blade.
“I see why you came to us partisans.”
Leia is quick to correct him, “No, Benthic. This isn’t about that. Yes, that Trios will be deposed is an advantage. But this isn't about punishment. This is an economic strike. This is showing we’re better than them. And no one who doesn’t deserve it is going to be hurt.”
You keep trying to tell yourself that the flight to Shu-Torun isn’t hot or unbearable when sitting next to Tunga, across from Benthic and Luke. When the Flacon finally touches down, you’re the first to exit out off the ramp, breathing in the hot, humid, air. Leia and Luke aren’t far behind, Han pulling in the rear as he grumbles under his breath about how hot the planet was.
“How’s anyone supposed to live here?” you ask, “let alone thrive.”
Leia shrugs, pulling up her hood as she stands on the edge of a drop-off. Peeking over the side, you feel weak in the knees at the sheer drop down to the ocean of lava. Up ahead, stood the spike you were supposed to infiltrate and take down. Around it, jagged rocks and lava fall made it seem like an evil lair. Bright orange lightning crackled between the building and the stones, the ground under your feet vibrating lightly.
The heat and humidity were one thing, but the wind made it all worse. Ash and tiny rocks smacked your cheeks with the wind, your eyes watering. You wondered how the queen found this place appealing, was it perhaps the river of lava? Or the black, molten, rock you were standing on?
“It’s almost incomprehensible,” Leia says, in awe of the building. Ash sticks to her gray suit, and you refrain from reaching out to brush it off.
“We’re going to take down that, and Shu-Torun with it.”
Kissing your teeth, you narrow your eyes at her, watching her tense shoulders and tight-lipped look.
“Don’t say you’re getting cold feet already.”
Han grabs your wrist lightly, pulling you back towards the Falcon. Meorti stands by the ramp, squinting to protect her eyes from the wind.
“It’s not too late to back out and do something less suicidal instead,” Han says, letting go of your wrist as you board the ship once more.
“Suicidal?!” Meorti squeaks, eyebrows furrowing. Luke shrugs his shoulders, downplaying it all. “It’s not. Han just likes to be dramatic. It's a good plan.”
You turn your head towards Luke, smirking, “a good plan can be suicidal too, you know.”
He only raises his eyebrows, leaning in close, “I’m trying to lighten the mood-”
“Sometimes, moods don’t need to be lightened.”
He huffs, moving around you to go deeper in the Falcon. Benthic waited by the ramp, leaning against a side wall with one of his blades in hand.
“Death is a small thing,” he hums, the pads of his fingers lightly touching the metal. Tunga looked star-eyed, almost like he was about to start drooling, “Oh my! All this posturing!”
Leia pushes down her hood once the ramp begins to close, squeezing past you and Han.
“I thought I was a great actor, but you, my tube-faced friend, are incredible.”
You shake your head, “here we go.”
“The spike runs through the core of the planet. It fuels all the energy shields. They keep an area habitable, then are repositioned when they need to exploit another area, like dams on a water world.” Leia places her hands on her hips, shrugging her tense shoulders as she looks around the main hold. “If we knew exactly which engines to blow up, the energies would tear themselves apart. If we do it right, victory will come with an absolute minimum of casualties. But we’d need the plans to know that.”
Han raises an arm, letting R2 roll forwards, already displaying the inner workings of the spike, “and would you look at that!” he muses, faux surprise lacing his voice, “plans!”
Leia ignores him, standing close to the plans to point out specific parts, “We hit our targets and no more spike. No more spike? No more energy shields. They run on its storage reservoir. One by one its systems fail, with plenty of time to evacuate.”
With her eyebrows scrunched, she turns back and glances over the small crowd of people, “Shu-Torun turns from one of the marvels of the galaxy into a standard mining world.”
“Even I know the spike’s one of the most heavily defended places imaginable.” Tunga crosses his arms, sternly looking at Leia. “The energy shields alone are one thing, but I daresay it has quite the number of aggressive fellows with blaster guns.”
“Oh my,” Threepio sighs, looking down at R2, and then to you, “I was so happy with my limbs all back as well. I knew it couldn’t last long.”
You finally let yourself begin to relax, slowly piecing together what the full plan is and how you’ll make it out alive once more.
“I won’t lie, it won’t be easy.” You look back up at Leia, already seeing her smiling softly, “We’re not going to be fighting all of them. The problem with Shu-Torun is that it has a top-down system of government and is highly technological. This wonderful infrastructure is controlled from on high-”
Luke can see the confusion written on everyone's faces the more Leia speaks, so he huffs, standing beside her, “You remember at Mako-ta when they locked down all our ships? If we can get access to the master security controls, we can do the same for them. Every single door we don’t want open will be sealed.”
“The path is so obvious, why are we still sitting here?”
Benthic spoke like he was the only one understanding everything Leia was saying. Sometimes, you wanted to smack Benthic, but the multiple holsters of guns and knives stopped you.
“The controls are in the Imperial retreat. Only Queen Trios can activate them. We have the access codes in the data we stole from her ship, but there's an eye scan.”
“Why does this keep getting more and more intricate?” You grumble, leaning against Han as you rub your eyes. He laughs softly, lightly patting your head, “too many big words for you?”
Slapping his shoulder, you send him a glare, “no, you womp-rat. I just want to get this over with, the more time we waste, the more time is shredded off my life.”
“Surly we can’t just kidnap her? She’s a Queen. People tend to be somewhat protective of their heads of state, in my experience.” Tunga points at himself, “admittedly, my experience is more marital than martial, but I'm sure the point remains-”
“She’s holding a party for the ore dukes tonight,” Leia shouts. “We kidnap an ore duke, impersonate him and use it as an excuse to get close enough to Trios to get a good scan of her eye.”
“So let me get this straight,” Meorti rubs her forehead, “We go right into the heart of her stronghold, at risk of being discovered at any moment, just to get a scan of her eye.”
“Then, before they realize, we go to this other stronghold, get in, and I use all the above to slice their systems and lock down this whole society? And Finally, before they manage to break out, we go and infiltrate the enormous spike system and blow it up according to a bunch of stolen plans?”
“Sounds like a death wish when you put it like that,” you sigh, crossing your arms over your chest.
Leia chuckles nervously, squinting her eyes slightly, “uh, yes? Though we’ll have two teams. We’ll go to the retreat. Luke, (Y/n), and Benthic will go to the Spike.”
At the mention of your name, you listen back in and catch the very end of what she was saying, your shoulders tensing at the thought of being alone with Luke and Benthic. Han tries to conceal his humor, his shoulder jolting with laughter at the thought.
“Shut up,” you hiss, roughly jabbing your elbow in his side. He yelps lightly but doesn't drop his teasing smile.
“I see no problem with the plan,” Benthic muses, standing at Meorti’s side, “do you have a problem, engineer?”
Her eyebrows furrow, but she doesn’t step away, “no, I guess. So how are we going to capture an ore duke?” She nods her head over her shoulder, “is it something to do with that speeder in the hold?”
Leia finally smiles, “It does. In fact, we need to be on our way if we want to make the drop on an Ore Duke. Han, Threepio, Tunga, you, and I will be going in the speeder while the rest of you stay back and wait for our signal on the jump to the spike.”
“I can’t just leave the Falcon!” Han whines, standing from the couch while positioning his hands on his hips. He may have been complaining, but he was following the others into the back of the ship towards the speeder.
“I’ll take good care of her, Han!” You tease, laughing at the glare he tosses over his shoulder. Chewie walks to stand beside you, ruffling your hair to get your attention as the others begin the undocking process.
“Yeah, yeah,” you hum, following Chewie back into the cockpit, taking a seat in Hans’ chair. It was in better condition than Chewie’s, but the leather was still cracking and worn, faded from the constant brush of his hands and clothes.
“Are you fit to fly?” Benthic hums from the doorway, hands gripping his belt. You scoff, flicking switches and monitoring the statistics coming from the main drive.
“I know a lot more than you think, Benthic.”
“I find a lack of enthusiasm in your tone, do you not want to participate in this mission?”
You turn your head, giving him a forced smile. Chewie does the same, your heads almost touching in the middle, “and I find your lack of minding your own business quite disturbing, Benthic. Why don’t you go and study the plans more, eh? “
Not hearing a reply, only the fading sounds of boots, you let your shoulders relax and turn your focus back onto the control panel, making sure the coms were on, and that the deflector shields were working properly.
When you double-check everything was ready for the departure to the Spike, you lean back in Han’s chair and close your eyes. Chewie was growling and huffing under his breath, and you could slowly piece together some words. You were getting better, but still nowhere near Han when it came to understanding Chewie.
“Chewie, can you make sure they don't break anything? Han will have my head if he finds so much as a dent,” you mumble, hearing him stand from his chair. He departs but makes sure to ruffle your hair. When you’re alone in the cock pit, you finally let your body slouch into the seat. Watching the large spike across the lava ocean, ash and pebbles hitting the windshield.
The speeder left a little while ago, and now it was just a waiting game for when they would contact you about any updates. You just hoped they were safe, the last thing you needed was a bloody and bruised Han whining all day.
“So this is where you’ve been hiding,” Luke muses. He gives a lopsided smile while sitting in Chewie's chair, and you almost jump out of your skin.
“I don’t think I’d be of use out there, you’re better around others,” you reply, sitting back up. Clearing your throat, you try and look at anything but him. The radar was clear, and so was the surrounding perimeter.
“That’s not true,” he chuckles, “you’re always saving deals with Han and I can barely haggle down the price of anything.”
You chuckle, remembering the flustered look Luke wore as he continued to try and haggle for the first time. Cheeks red and eyebrows furrowed in frustration.
“Well,” you tilt your head, “smuggling is different than normal haggling, Blondie.”
It was nice talking to Luke like this again, it was so easy to tease him. You let your eyebrows relax, and your shoulders relax while in his presence again. If you tried hard enough, you can ignore the thought of the Partisans and Chewie walking in.
“I haven’t heard that in a while.”
“What, blondie?”
“Yeah,” he hums, turning his head to smile softly, “I haven’t heard that since before Hubin.”
Just like that, he had to go and remind you of the worst two months you’ve had in a long time. You clear your throat, shift in your seat, and scoff.
“I just haven’t found a reason to, yeah?” You don't look at him, but you can imagine the hurt look in his eyes. His head turns back to the control panel, and his lips thin as he nods.
“We have a job to do, and I’d rather not talk about that.”
You thank the Maker when Chewie comes back in, he looks between you both before gesturing for Luke to move from his seat. He sits back down, glancing over the controls before leaning back and closing his eyes.
It felt like the air had gotten thick and heavy after you and Luke spoke. Your throat hurt from thinking about the secluded planet you were trapped on. Sure, it brought Han and Leia together, but all it did for you and Luke was drive a stake in your tight-knit relationship. You refused to talk about it, scared of tears that might cloud your vision. What would Han think of you after you spill your guts about your feelings towards the Jedi?
“Chewie?” Leia’s voice cracks over the intercom, “We’re heading to the abyssal rooms, we’ll get Trios’ data, and then get to the castle to slice. Ready?”
You knew that Luke would never leave the cockpit when Leia started talking, he leaned in between you and Chewie, blonde hair almost reaching his lashes.
“We’re ready when you are.”
“Just make sure none of Benthic’s guys mess with the Flacon and- oh, just look after her,” Han insisted.
“Don’t worry Han, nothing will happen to your baby,” you joke, smiling lightly.
The com went silent after that, and you shifted in your seat at the lack of response on his end. Han is either really nervous, or really really nervous about leaving the Falcon with a bunch of Partisans in the main hold.
When your shoulders finally started to relax, and your head resting against the seat with your eyes closed, you actually almost began to doze off. You blame it on Chewie, his presence is always the best on the Falcon when it comes to these kinds of missions.
“Luke, (Y/n), we’ve got everything we need for the slice, are you ready to storm the Spike and set the explosives when we take control?” Leia’s voice chimed in over the com. You sit back up, groaning softly as you start up the Falcon once more. The engine rumbles under your feet, and you can hear the hissing of the vents and different systems.
“Just launching now,” you grip the joystick, rolling your shoulders, “we’ll wait on your signal.”
“Benthic,” Luke stated, turning to look at the spying hunter, who was hunched against the doorway.
“Get the rest of the Partisans ready for deployment, we’ll be going in fast.”
Chuckling, you flip more switches, the Falcon beginning to ascend, “fast doesn't really do my flying justice.”
Chewie barks, the com making jerking noises until Han’s stern voice cuts in once more, “Just take good care of the Falcon. Don’t let any of those fanatics do something dumb with her-” Chewie has to interrupt him to stop him from saying anything else more incriminating with the Partisans, “What do you mean Benthic’s there? Now he’ll- Is he still there?” He didn’t wait for Chewie to respond, “Benthic! I was joking! Joking!”
You steer the Falcon away from the ledge, beginning to speed towards the Spike, “Relax you bantha! The biggest worry for the Falcon? You not getting the shields down in time.”
With the Falcon ready for acceleration, you make sure to settle your heart rate, they would get it done in time. They always do. Staring down the Spike, you can faintly see the glow of its shield, and internally, you note to get yourself a Port In a Storm when this is all over.
Benthic and Luke sit in the seats behind yours, waiting for the signal.
“(Y/n), we’ve done it. You can make your run.”
“Understood,” you jerk your head over your shoulder, keeping your eyes ahead, “you guys might wanna hold on.”
You can just imagine Luke’s confusion as you accelerate the Falcon, your body jerking back into your seat. Chewie barks and growls, but you only throw him a smile as the ship continues to gain in speed.
“At last.” Benthic hums, unfazed, “I want to make it look just like Jedha.”
Laughing sarcastically, you narrow your eyes, “at least wait until we’re off the Spike, yeah? I have no plans on joining the afterlife.”
“Let’s see if Leia’s opened up access,” Luke interjects, leaning in-between you and Chewie.
As the shield comes closer, you’re internally freaking out. Your palms are slick against the leather joystick, and your knees can’t stop from bouncing.
When you make contact with the light blue wall, it doesn't stop the Falcon, but opens to allow you through. The Spike is gigantic when you’re so close, and you wonder how long it’ll actually take you to rig it up with the explosives. Benthic and Luke both get up from their seats, leaving the cockpit in rushed footsteps as you set the Falcon down gently on one of the small docking bays that clung to the side of the Spike.
Shutting down the Falcon, you stand from the seat and ensure your blaster is still holstered securely to your side, your few knifes still strapped to your calves and thigh. Chewie waited for you in the doorway, crossbow in hand. Nodding, you follow him out and onto the tarmac. Luke lead the group, saber hilt in hand as R2 followed him closely. The partisans followed Benthic, who was following you and Chewie.
Grumbling, Chewie jogs beside Luke, who chuckles once, “Yeah, its strange. We land on a hostel base, and we expect everything to be exploding and them charging us.”
“The other times they knew we were coming, did they not?” You interject, standing beside Luke as you approach the hanger door. Light purple lights boarder the metal, and Luke ignited his lightsaber, talking softly down at his droid.
“This time we have control of everything. Artoo? When you’re ready.”
As R2 begins disarming the doors, you grab your blaster, checking the rounds and making sure it was working properly. You can feel Lukes’ eyes on you, and when you look at him, you try not to stare at the way the light blue glow of his saber made his eyes twinkle.
He licks his lips, looking nervous, “I’m glad you’re here.”
“I’m glad I’m here too,” you smile, raising an eyebrow,” couldn’t let you boys have all the fun, right?”
R2 whistles, cutting Luke off from saying anything else, rolling away from the doors to let Chewie and Luke stand in front. The doors hiss open, and Chewie roars, already charging in at the unexpecting guards. Charging in, you rush to the nearest guard, smashing the hilt of your blaster into their neck, right between the plates of their armor. Her goes down with a yelp, and you shoot his leg to ensure he couldn’t follow.
It wasn’t long before each guard was down, some groaning and others lying still. Luke stands by the closed inner door, R2 at his side.
“We’re finished here. Secure the prisoners and-”
Benthic doesn’t hesitate when he kills the remaining guards, standing tall over them as he shoots them.
“Benthic!” You shout, glaring at him. He doesn’t look at you, but continues surveying the small tunnel, “You asked the partisans to join you. Do not be surprised when they act like Partisans.”
“And besides, we cannot risk leaving anyone to our rear.”
“You-”
“Just don't push it,” Luke interjects, shaking his head lightly at you, “we have all the advantages here.”
Benthic finally turns around to look at the blonde, and when he does, Luke stands a little taller, “Only we can open doors, we make our way to each of the cores, blow them up and bring the Spike down,” he points to the doors R2 was disarming, “this way!”
Placing a hand on Benthic’s shoulder, Luke tilts his head slightly, “all we have to do is stick together.”
You want to stand next to Chewie, waiting for Luke to join your small group instead of talking to Benthic.
Luke finally turn back when the doors slide open, standing in-between you and Chewie.
“Chewie, get back to the ship and keep contact with the princess,” he says, giving the Wookiee a soft smile when he begins whining.
“You’re the only one Han really trusts, Chewie,” you pipe up, shrugging your shoulders. Luke smiles softly, waiting until Chewie walks out, albeit grumbling the whole way, to start walking.
“You think Han doesn’t trust you?” He asks, glancing back at the Partisans. Shaking your head, you wave your hand, “last time I was left in charge of the Falcon alone, I ditched him on a planet for a few days before coming back with a new paint job.”
The hallway was short when coming up to the first core, the light sound of talking guards on the other side. Your blaster was heavy in your hand, but it was one you were familiar with when shifting it around. With your back pressed up against the wall, you wait for R2 to open the doors. Your blaster wasn’t set to stun, which made it somewhat better to aim for you.
Benthic was at your side, Luke on the other side of the doorway. The partisan was going over his daggers and blasters, mechanical breathing making your shoulders tense.
When the doors open, you crouch when rushing into the room. It took a moment for the guards to notice your group, but when they did, shouting commands spread quickly while blaster bolts began raining your way. You throw yourself up against one of the storage tanks, peeking around and taking shots when you can. Once or twice, a bolt whizzed right past your head, almost burning off your hair.
“Be careful!” Luke shouts, running past you to make his way towards Benthic, who was reloading his blaster.
“Says you!”
Finally making it to Benthic, breathing heavily as you look between the two, you groan at the glint in the blondes eye.
“You’re going to rush them, aren’t you?”
“We were waiting for your assistance of cover,” Benthic responds, looking over his shoulder.
“Ready?”
Luke breathes a chuckle, rolling his shoulders, “not really, Benthic. But that never seems to matter.”
Lending cover fire was easier with a Partisan at your side, he was a great shot, not missing any of his targets as he shoots down the guards closest to Luke.
Luke, always one to accidentally show off, was spinning his ignited lightsaber as he shot down a guard, jumping over the control panel, and then the last one went down, and it was silent.
“If this is how its going to be for every room, I regret not going with Chewie,” you grumble, holstering your blaster and standing beside R2, who had rolled in casually when there was no more blaster fire.
“Room clear. Set it to explode, Artoo.”
The others were already leaving the room to head to the other core, but you stayed back with Luke and R2.
Whistling, R2 hooks up to the core, his head spinning back and forth.
Luke scoffs, leaning his weight onto one foot, “that’s right, now! Let’s go!”
When R2 was finished, you all had to run out before you were blown up with the core. Then came the others, with four cores down, you only had one more before the mission from your end was completed.
“Okay,” Luke said breathlessly, running beside you, “that’s four down, one more to go and we can get back to the Falcon.”
He shifts his head to look at R2, “still no contact?” whistling and beeping in return.
“They might have their hands full, Luke. Give them time.”
“I wouldn’t expect any,” Benthic chimes, “We’re just too deep. We’re on our own.”
His other men were paused in the final doorway, eyes flickering from you, to Luke, to Benthic. One man lowered his gaze when you narrowed your eyes, and a thick feeling began to bubble in your chest.
“Then let’s make this quick and get back!”
Much like the other rooms, the guards weren’t aware of your presence, being overtaken in little to no time. Just to be sure, you kicked away their blasters, tapping their helmets with the tip of your shoe while wincing.
“Room secure!” You call back, hearing R2 chime before entering the room. Turning, you go to the doorway, ready to make your escape back to the safety of the Falcon. Benthic stood by the main control panel, his rifle still in hand.
“Last charge to set, then out.” Luke pointed over his shoulder, “Artoo? Get to work.”
“And i thought Han was mean to droids,” you lean against the doorway, tilting your head at the blonde who only shrugs his shoulders.
“If you could understand him, you would be a little mean too.”
“I’m good, gives me a reason to not listen too much.”
You can see the beginning of a smile, but it falls when the core begins to brighten. The once quiet humming grew louder, the machine seeming to work overtime.
“Benthic? We’re supposed to blow it up,” you holler, pushing away from the door frame. Luke fully turns, his hand gripping his blaster as he strides towards the group, “what are you doing?”
“It is none of your concern.”
Luke scoffs, “It is. Artoo, stop. No more.”
“You have fought alongside the Partisans. You know what we are.”
You can see the other’s stepping closer to Benthic, and it makes you step closer to Luke. Tensions were rising, and you were cautious when taking a breath.
“We do not hurt our enemies when we can kill them. If we do this, we won’t just hurt the Imperial bookkeepers’ ledgers. We can tear this world apart. We can make it Jedha’s twin.” His laugh is mechanical, “Just, is it not?”
“No. it’s not just. Its not fair.”
Benthic sighs, raising a finger, “we disagree.”
The other Partisans raise their blasters, some pointed at you, others at Luke. You knew that you couldn’t go against them, so you raised your hands, mirroring Luke.
“I see,” he tsk’s. Face relaxed as he raises his hands in surrender. He glances at you, eyes soft, before looking down at R2.
“Artoo. I guess we have no other choice, right?”
You almost laugh, you’ve had enough of these two. He was beginning to sound like Han, always having a trick up his sleeve to get out of a tight spot.
With a trill, R2 opens six canisters and begins dispensing thick white smoke. It spreads immediately, and Luke grabs your hand while diving out of the line of fire. He doesn’t let go of your hand when you’re racing down the halls, dodging blaster fire with R2 on your trail.
“They’ve gone crazy,” you say, ducking your head when a bullet flies over your head. Luke huffs, turning sharply down a different hallway.
“You’re telling me?!”
“I knew this was a bad idea! Nobody listens to me!”
“Now’s not the time for this!” Luke frowns, “there has to be a way to stop them.”
“If they’re on such a schedule, why don't we give them every second we can.”
“Good idea,” Luke breathes, smirking lightly as he holsters his blaster and unsheathes his saber, igniting the blue blade. When you get through one of the blast doors, he all but throws you in while slicing the control panel, the large doors closing with a crash behind you.
“This will slow them down.”
“For now,” you grumble, trying to catch your breath. “I didn’t come here to fight Rebels, Artoo, but we only came here to destroy this machine, not the whole planet!” He looks down at his droid, saber clutched in his hand while he runs a hand through his hair, “but if we keep you out of Benthic’s hands, they can’t blow up the whole world.”
The metal door jolts, multiple pairs of feet underneath. “Well, slow down isn’t stop.”
Luke steps towards you, grabbing your hand to drag you closer to R2, “you two hide, I’ll lead them away-”
“What? Hide? Are you crazy?”
“You have to stay safe!”
“And so do you! Artoo can hide, I’m coming with you.”
R2 whistles as he rolls into a small opening within the wall, and the door begins rising with a groan. Luke glares, grumbling under his breath, but doesn’t stop you from following after him as he runs down the hallway.
“After them!”
You took not one, but two turns before you came to a dead end. The partisans were on your tail, and there was no where else for you to go. Turning, you aim your blaster, but that wouldn’t last the long. And Luke had his saber, but you were heavily out numbered.
“No way through,” Luke grumbled, stepping closer.
“So, it will be this. Slicing down fellow Rebels in a fight you can’t win? What are you, Luke?”
“What are you, Benthic? Capturing us doesn’t make a difference anyway, you need Artoo.”
“Bring them.”
The core was no longer overheating, back to its original color now that R2 wasn’t controlling it. The room still had the fallen guards, weapons still kicked away. The barrel of a blaster was digging into your back, and you tried not to turn around and snatch the blaster away.
“Broadcast me.”
Benthic steps off to the side, resting his hands on his hips. You’re forced towards the core, standing beside Luke.
“Yes, Benthic, channel open.”
“Droid! You can hear this. You come here, or we kill your master.”
“He’s not going to listen to you,” you comment, Benthic only moves his head slightly in your direction.
“He’s a stubborn little thing, doesn’t listen at all-”
There he was., the little droid, stubborn R2-D2 unit that made your life a living hell when accompanied by Threepio. He was rolling into the room, quickly, on his own mission to save Luke.
“Seems you’re wrong, smuggler. Overload the system, droid.”
Luke is just as surprised as you, “No! My life doesn’t matter compared to this! I order you-” but he’s already rolling past, not even acknowledging him. Luke walking along side him, but gets stopped by a Partisan. This time, he sounds desperate, “please, Artoo- you don’t have to do this, you-”
R2 hooks back up to the core, the machine beginning to overheat slowly.
“Benthic! Stop! You’re going to kill everyone on this planet!”
Luke was right. If the core was overheated, it would drive the planet down the middle. Effectively destroying anything and everyone on its surface.
“Yes. Including us. Anything to ensure this Hellish planet dies.”
“You’re insane!” You yell, ready to charge at him, but another grabs your arm. You try to push back, but you feel the barrel digging into your back again.
“Set perimeter, they’ll come now. We must be willing to defend the dream. And tie those two up. They’re proving a distraction.”
The barrel is removed from your back, and you refrain from struggling too much as they wrap a cord around your wrists and elbows, connecting that to your waist so there was no way to move your arms.
As the core continued overheating, it began lighting up with electricity. Large bolts crawled up the side as the core ran to its limit. Stormtroopers began to flood into the room, and for once you were hoping they would be able to aim and take down the Partisans. Maybe they would set you free in time to escape the meltdown. But it was unlikely.
“I’d never thought I’d be hoping stormtroopers would beat the rebels,” Luke says softly, watching the onslaught from beside you. Chuckling, you let your head fall back against the control panel, “I never thought I would die next to a stubborn droid and a blonde Jedi-in-training.”
“We’re not going to die here.”
“Face the facts Luke, Benthic isn’t going to crack under our pressure, he barely trusts you, let alone a smuggler like me.”
For once, you were envious of Luke’s determination at making it out of dire situations.
“Just let me think-”
“At least you got to kiss a pretty lady before you die, I never got that-”
“Stop talking like that!” he hisses, narrowing his eyes. With pink cheeks, he shakes his head, “I’m not going to let either of us die here.”
“If you say so, blondie.”
“Benthic! You can’t do this-”
Towering over the pair of you, Benthic watches the core struggle to keep going, “Nothing can stop us now.”
“Benthic!” you hear from the entrance, “What are you-”
You almost smile when you see Leia and Han, but they’re rained on with blaster fire, disappearing around the door. There's a brief pause, Benthic waiting patiently until Leia reappears, her arms raised high in surrender.
“Benthic, please- just listen to me.”
She inches forwards, the Partisans all aiming their blasters at her and she walks closer to Benthic, who meets her somewhat in the middle.
“Princess,” his voice is almost cocky, “this is logical. Alderaan and Jedha, sisters in pain, the Shu-Torun are all complicit. Their death will warn others what will happen to them is they follow the Empires path.”
Leia lowers her hands, eyebrow knit tightly together, “I’ve heard that plan before. Planetary annihilation to keep dissenters in line, Tarkin and his Death Star.”
“The dream of overthrowing them. They’ve taken everything from us.”
By now they were standing close, talking like two friends debating which cantina is better.
“They haven’t. If you do this,” she gestures to the core, “then they take everything. If you do this, even if we win, they win. Because they’re them. Yes, Shu-Torun dies if you do this- but your dream dies too.”
The others seemed to freeze, the only sound filtering around was the buzzing of the core, and the snapping of lightning from the excess power.
“Return to the Princess’ plan, release the prisoners,” Benthic said sternly, his voice barely heard from where you and Luke were sitting, “let us leave this place of errors behind.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, you let the Partisans untie you before helping them untie Luke, pulling him from the ground and rushing out of the room. Han grabbed your hand, glaring at you as he led the group, “I can’t leave you alone at all, can I?”
“Clearly not, everything goes wrong without you.”
You dont throw yourself in Chewie’s arms when you see him, he was waiting in the cockpit for everyone to return, the Falcon already ready for take-off.
Han all but throws himself into his seat, Luke and Leia taking their’s behind the two. You wee left to stand, but you didn’t mind. You liked to be inbetween Han and Chewie, gripping onto the backs of their chairs, you bend down onto one knee. The cockpit door slid shut, Threepio talking to R2 as the Falcon quickly starts to ascend.
“Where’s Tunga?” You ask, looking around for the small green shapechanger that you’ve grown fond of. Han shakes his head, telling you what you needed to know. You just hope he went out in a blaze of glory, he was dramatic like that, he would want everyone to remember him.
You dont know when the Empire arried, but there was already multiple Tie’s after you, shooting down from above.
The radar began beeping erratically, and when you bend down to read it, you whistle. Han shifts his gaze to look as well, and he scoffs lightly.
“So they’ve got an orbital blockade and a sky full of ties, and we’ve got no chance of blasting our way out. Two options for you, Princess.”
You groan, already hating where this was going.
“Do we surrender, or do I try something extreme?”
“No surrender!” Luke interjects, leaning over the arm of his chair to see out the front, Leia nodding lightly, “and they’d kill us anyways.”
Smirking, Han grips onto the joystick, “Well, if you put it like that-”
“Han, please,” you plead, gripping onto the seats like that was going to help you. Han was reckless when given the option.
He pulls on the joystick, the Falcon spinning up and around the Ties, the force makes you yelp, the force pushing you back. Luke and Leia both grab your arms to stop you from flying into the cockpit door, stifling their laughter at your constant cursing.
“Han?” Leia calls, almost falling out of her seat to hold onto you, “where are we going?”
“Han! I’m going to kill you!” You yell. The Falcon heading straight back towards the collapsing Spike.
“You’re flying us into the remains of the Spike?!”
Han shrugs, furrowing his eyebrows, “you got it. It went right through Shu-Torun, that tunnel is still collapsing. Maybe we can make it to the other side. Maybe.”
While flying into the Spike, he levels out the Falcon, allowing you to sit on the floor without fear of lying into the wall. The Tie’s find nothing wrong with this, following right after the Falcon. Out the front, you can see the fiery inside of the planet, which was collapsing quickly. Multiple small lights on the control panel began to blink, a high pitched alarm sounding.
“Keep the shields up!’ Han calls.
“I am!” Meorti’s voice is stern when sounding through the com, her breathing heavy as the alarms sounded around her as well, “But shields aren’t meant to hold against the temperature of a planet core! We’ve got seconds!”
Pushing yourself up from the floor, you kneel in-between the two pilots and scan the radar, the Tie’s were exploding from the temperature, but not before trying to shoot you down.
“How long do we have? Can we make it?” You ask, looking at Han.
“I already told you,” he hisses, the exit coming closer, “Maybe!”
Right as you fly out, the entire Spike collapses, an explosion of fire and lava following you out into space. You can finally breathe a sigh of relief, sinking down onto the floor as Han jumps into hyperspace. Leia and Luke both cheer, leaning over the small space to hug each other.
“I’m never doing anything with you guys again.”
“So, same time next rotation?” Han jokes, standing from his seat and stretching.
“Great flying, Han. that was incredible.”
From the back of the cockpit, you can hear R2 and Threepio, “Really, Artoo? I never thought you’d be a mystic.”
Luke turns in his seat, raising an eyebrow, “what did he say? He made the same noises earlier.
“‘Trust the Force’, master Luke. ‘Trust the Force’”
Back in the main hold, Benthic waited with the other Partisans, still holding their weapons.
“What do we do with this ship full of traitors?” Luke asks, tilting his head while crossing his arms.
“Be careful, boy,” Benthic hisses, “We still outnumber you.”
“We drop them off. Benthic and his troops go back to their fight, whatever that means now, and we all learn from this,” Leia answers, stepping closer to Han, who raises his eyebrow, “where you going? Back to Jedha?”
Benthic looks down, shaking his head lightly, “Not Jedha. Somewhere else, something else for the Partisans.”
This leads you to stop by Salobea, a forested planet covered in thick fog and disgusting humidity that made your tunic stick to your body right as you stepped off the Falcon to say your final goodbyes. Luke stood by your side while Leia and Han talked to Benthic, the blonde shifting his weight on his feet before finally turning to you.
“Did you mean it? What you say when we were tied up?”
You raise an eyebrow, “what? That you got to kiss a pretty girl? And I didn't?”
“Yeah,” he murmurs, scratching his head as he looks back to the others.
“I did, Tula was a keeper, and you seemed happy with her,” you can feel your chest squeeze, your stomach turning.
“Well,” Luke hums, keeping his voice down as Leia begins her walk back to the Falcon, Han on her trail, “I would’ve rather been with someone else.”
Freezing, you turn to look at him, but he’s already smiling at Leia.
You should’ve known, the signs were all there and still, you were naïve.
Piling back into the Falcon, you sit in your usual seat in the cockpit and close your eyes, trying to find rest while you made your way bank to Home One, then you can finally get your hands on a drink.
“She’s so beautiful. I never thought I’d see her again,” Meorti sighs, standing between you and Leia as the Falcon begins docking.
“Do you didn’t get a taste for being out there?” Luke asks, placing a hand onto her shoulder.
She scoffs, shaking her head, “No! Give me a reactor about to go critical any day. I can handle being in a nice big ship being shot at, but don't shoot me directly! And I keep on thinking, poor Tunga!”
When the Falcon docks, you all stride off and greet the docking crew, who begin refueling and checking the Falcon for anything major, and Han shoo’s them away.
“Don’t worry master Meorti. I’m sure he’s in a better place,” Threepio comforts, but she's already striding away, “that makes two of us. It’s been interesting-” she’s out of ear shot before she finishes talking. You stretch your arms, leaning against the Falcons landing ramp pistons, groaning.
“Thanks again for the repairs!” Threepio calls, “they were splendid! They- oh. She’s gone.”
R2 trills, Threepio turning back to nod down at him, “yes, Artoo, she is walking very fast.”
Placing his hands on his hips, Han walks closer to Leia, “so, princess. What next for your people?”
“Mon Mothma has requested us fro a job. A little recon.”
Groaning, you push away from the landing gear and furrow your eyebrows, looking over her shoulder at the tablet she was holding, different requests and data blinking on the screen.
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Jan Dodonna was always planning for the future,” she says, smiling at you, “he had preliminary scans for possible new rebel bases.”
“Gimme a look at that,” Han grumbled, snatching the tablet from her, and scrolling down the list.
“Atanu, Jabone IV, Lonania Prime, Hoth, Mupin XII?” He scoffs, handing the tablet back to her, “Mupin XII? Really? Did he make that one up? What are these places?”
Luke smirks, throwing an arm around Leia’s shoulder, “one of them? It’s our new home.”
“Can I at least get something to drink first?” you say, rubbing your eyes as han throws an arm around your shoulder, shaking you lightly.
“Where we’re going to be going, you won't need a drink!”
“With you guys? I always need a drink.”
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Run in War
Hey guys! enjoy this chapter! chapter six might be a little later than next Friday, but that’s only because I can’t get a hold of the girl i’m co-writing with, Samantha. I hope everything is okay, but I cannot do this book alone.
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“On our way,” Lucy was shocked as she hung up the phone. Wyatt awkwardly got off of her and stood up, rubbing the back of his neck.
“What’s going on?” He asked as he helped Lucy to her feet.
“The mothership has been stolen.”
“What?” Wyatt looked at her wildly. “How? Or the better question, who?”
She shook her head at him. “They don't know. Get dressed, we're going back to Mason Industries.”
They both dressed in record time, blowing past the red lights and swerving across back roads to Mason Industries, both avoiding the topic of the ‘almost kiss.’ The moment they stepped through the doors, Christopher was at their side.
“What happened?” Lucy followed the agent as she walked through the familiar halls.
“Well, Mason and Rufus seem to believe that it was Emma Whittmore who stole the Mothership, seeing as she would be the only one able to pilot it with Jiya out of commission.”
Wyatt picked up his steps, turning to face his superior as they reached their destination. “Emma? She told us she was hiding to avoid them. Now you're saying she was a part of it all along?”
Christopher opened the door to the briefing room, finding the file on the table and sliding it across the table at them as Rufus entered the room.
“I ran here as soon as I heard,” he huffed. “What the hell happened?”
“Agent Carlin, please take a seat.” She continued as the trio sat. Lucy flipped through the file on Emma Whittmore. “We decided to do some further digging since we found out about double agents in our midst.”
“Emma has been lying from the start. She has no known living relatives. Her entrance card was used to access the machine storage, and was never used to open it again. We don't know how far back this goes, or who her contact were, but she has stolen the mothership. We're tracking where she's landing now.”
“So, Flynn’s plan to use her to help him, actually backfired? Seeing as she was secretly a rittenhouse agent all along?” Wyatt chuckled. “Justice, if you ask me.”
Rufus nodded his head in agreement. “Talk about betrayal.”
At about that moment another Mason Industries worker poked his head in. “Agent Christopher? We have Emma Whittmore’s location.”
Everyone looked at the young man. “Well, where?” Christopher asked impatiently.
“Sarajevo, Bosnia. 1914.”
“The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand,” Lucy gasped. “The murders that caused World War One.”
“Who?” Wyatt and Rufus asked Lucy in unison.
“He was the heir to the Austrian throne, a major powerhouse back then. Him and his wife were killed by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian. Russia defended them, Germany sided with Austria, and so on. It triggered it all.” Lucy motioned with her hands as she walked them through history, Wyatt staring in amazement.
“You are brilliant..” He muttered under his breath quietly, figuring nobody else heard.
“Well let’s get going then.” Agent Christopher said. “Get changed and head to the Lifeboat.”
Wyatt, Lucy and Rufus headed back to the early 1900s era clothing and searched for outfits.
Wyatt wore a nice suit and jacket with striped pants and shiny leather boots. He also put flat cap and groaned, “I look ridiculous.”
Lucy smiled as walked over to him and grabbed the collar of his button up suit. “They popped the collar.” She murmured before doing so to his suit. She watched as Wyatt’s face adorned a shy grin. “Thank you ma’am.”
Lucy nodded to him and picked out her own outfit. She chose a lacy shirtwaist and a narrow blue covering that fell to the top of her foot, flattering her petite body top. Her hair was delicately placed in a padded hairstyle similar to the famous ‘bob.’ She was in the middle of adjusting her bra when Wyatt and Rufus walked by, both looking at her strangely.
“You okay?” Rufus chuckled, looking at his friend.
“This was the era bras were invented, and this is an extremely uncomfortable one.”
“Guys, come on!” Agent Christopher yelled from down the hall. “We’re already way behind. Everyone should be boarded in five.”
Lucy rolled her eyes and tugged at the bra again before hustling after Christopher, the boys quickly following.
They quickly made their way to the Lifeboat and sat down. Rufus made quick of starting up the machine as Wyatt watched Lucy in amusement try to buckle herself in.
He leaned over and took control of the situation, taking the belts from her and securing them around her body, not knowing she was watching with a smile on her face.
Rufus hit a row of buttons and switches on the lifeboat that Lucy couldn't begin to comprehend the science behind. “Okay… 1914 in 3, 2-”
The wave of nausea. The familiar spins and jolts of their travel. The crash of their landing.
Wyatt groaned out, pressing his palms into his eyes. “God, I hate that part.” He reached forward to unbuckle Lucy's belt after his own. He lingered on Lucy for a little bit, trying to piece himself back together after that hit of nausea.
The three of them stumbled their way out of the Lifeboat and into the surrounding forest of southern Bosnia. This had always been Lucy's favorite part. Seeing the world as it was before her, parts untouched. She took in the sheer amount of green against the deep blue sky, denser than she'd ever seen at home. It was so different from the modern world, everything was filled with life.
“Okay,” she told her friends, turning away from the scenery. “Ferdinand and his wife were driving to the hospital to visit bombing victims of an attack another member of Princip’s group. An assassination attempt on their way there failed, but on their way back both of them were shot near Latin Bridge and died later in their car.”
“Wait, hold on,” Rufus shook his head. “What does World War One do for rittenhouse?”
Lucy lead them through the thinning woods, to a road. She explained as she spoke, quieting her voice when cars passed, walking toward an inn she spotted down the road.
“Well, it's really responsible for a lot of our technology. The Wars advanced our need for medicine, vaccines, planes, modern warfare, and our modern alliances. It was the Great Depression after the war that caused the communist rise and gave us our current economic structure. Without the war, who knows what level our technology would be at. We could easily be in the sixties or seventies, we'd have no feminism movements largely spurred by women's contributions to the war-”
“So basically chaos.” Wyatt interrupted, summing up everything Lucy just said.
“Well, if you really want to water it down, yeah.” Lucy crossed her arms. History deserved respect.
Wyatt smirked at her comment, “Well c’mon then, we can’t have Emma breaking the damn world.”
The team headed to a small and quiet hotel to set up a base area where they could pull all their ideas together.
“So, how exactly do we stop Emma?” Rufus asked his teammates as they got settled in a room, ignoring the look they got from the booker at the three of them sharing a single room.
“Well I'm all in favor of finding her and dragging her ass back to Mason.” Wyatt shrugged off his jacket. “But I assume we need a backup plan.”
“Yeah.” Rufus chuckled at his friend, “We all know anything to do with rittenhouse isn’t that easy to take down.”
“The only reason this assassination happened was because of a wide array of miscommunications between the Archduke’s security and his driver. He wasn't even supposed to take the bridge route after the earlier attempts. We need to make sure those stay in place. And it has to be linked to Serbia, so Russia can join and the alliances we know can form.”
“So what, we talk to the driver and make sure he stays on the right path? I don’t think that will stop Emma, she’s sneaky. I think it will take more than that.” Rufus said.
Lucy nodded, and Wyatt watched the gears turn behind her eyes. “Until we figure out how she's planning to stop this, there's nothing we can do except plan around the basics. We know when and how he dies, and all we need to do is preserve that.”
Rufus glanced at his watch hidden beneath his long overcoat sleeves. “Well, it's seven in the morning here. What time is the bombing?”
“Around ten,” Lucy did the quick math in her head. “That gives us about three hours. Long enough for a shower, because I'm still covered in popcorn grease.” She raised her eyebrows at Wyatt before walking across the room to the bathroom. The showers weren't great, but they had running clean water and that was enough for her.
Rufus glanced at Wyatt. “Showers? Here? Is that even sanitary?” Wyatt just shrugged. Lucy was the one who studied this kind of thing.
Suddenly there was a loud scream from the shower and Wyatt took out his gun before breaking through the locked door.
“Lucy?!” He said panicked, gun out, “What’s wrong?”
She screamed again and Wyatt slammed the curtain open, seeing a very naked Lucy. In the place of a murder, or bomb, or any imminent danger was… a spider.
“Oh you've got to be kidding me, Lucy.” He put away his gun, looking at the ceiling. He heard Rufus take one step forward, let out an ‘Oh my God!’ and turn right back around.
“Wyatt! Do something!” Lucy couldn't even think of the modification as she stared at the spider, unable to look away. If you look away, they strike. Little devils.
“Oh for the love of-” Wyatt turned around, grabbing a wad of thin toilet paper. He kept his eyes low as he grabbed the spider, trying to look anywhere but her legs, and her hands trying to cover what they could.
Lucy watched Wyatt pick up the spider and throw it out the window before standing up and closing Lucy’s curtain. “There you go ma’am.” He said before taking a deep breath and walking into the other room.
He took a seat on the edge of the single bed, leaning to press his forehead against his palms. Rufus, in a chair next to the bed, and chuckled awkwardly.
“You okay man?”
“Mhmm..” He murmured, running a hand through his short brown hair, “Just peachy.”
Rufus just showed a knowing grin. “I bet you are.”
That comment earned a pretty good glare from Wyatt needless to say, and a mumble of “shut up Rufus..”
They waited for her to finish, listening to the pitter of the water. She came out in a thin robe, face red, and both men turned so she could change.
Once she was done, they had to move forward with what they were going to do next.
“Well, Fernand is staying in a hotel and then is supposed to tour around the city with his wife. I think we should go watch his hotel, make sure that Emma doesn't mess his original assassination.”
“Oh, that simple?” Wyatt said sarcastically.
“Isn't there a bombing we should be worried about?” Rufus looked from Wyatt to Lucy. “I don't know about you guys, but I really don't want to get blown up.”
Lucy shook her head. “Ferdinand wasn't close enough to be killed by the bombing. If we stick close to his entourage, we should be fine.”
“We just have to make sure that his death stays the same, if Emma changes one thing, it could change the course of History. Who knows what we would come back to. So that’s why I say we just stick to Ferdinand, make sure he dies the way he’s supposed too, as tragic as it is. It was actually him and his wife’s fortieth wedding anniversary.”
“Let's go then.” Wyatt muttered, standing up and placing another gun in his holster.
Rufus raised an eyebrow, “Dude, how many guns do you need?”
Wyatt smirked slightly, “You’d be surprised. And I always come prepared. Now, let’s go.”
Lucy and Rufus chuckled as they left the small hotel room. Rufus hot wired a car for them to drive to Ferdinand’s hotel, if course choosing a vintage classic he was too excited to be stealing.
“Aww man,” he whistled. “Haven't driven one of these yet. Let's see what she's got.”
He laughed as they drove toward the hotel, distinguishable by the guards at the door.
They arrived at the hotel about fifteen minutes later, and kept a distance. They couldn't be spotted, to be lurking like that would mean to be arrested if any guards saw them. For nearly an hour they were squatted in the bushes in wait for the heir to load his car but nothing came.
“Something is off.” Lucy muttered, looking around. There was no guards, the Archduke wasn’t even there. Her eyebrows scrunched in confusion.
“What’s wrong?” Wyatt asked.
“The prince should be here, ready to leave for the hospital.”
She looked at Wyatt and Rufus, “But nobody is here.”
Rufus looked at her, “So what? The bombing never happened?”
Lucy bit her lip, she had a bad feeling that Emma had already changed history.
“Have you heard an explosion? It should have happened already.” She looked at the sky, past noon. Lucy looked to Wyatt, a silent question of what to do in her eyes.
He looked back at her, understanding the unspoken words before standing up. “We should check the group out. You said it was a Serbian terrorist group? You know where they are?”
Lucy nodded. She picked up the edge of her skirts and began walking with the boys flanking her sides. “It should be…,” they rounded another corner a half hour later to meet a clay and wood cabin, “here.”
“Each one of them was set up at a different area of the road for the archduke, that way if one of them failed, the other assassins could pick up and carry out the murder.” Lucy glanced around at the silent woods. “We've been passing the others along the way. I thought, since those seemed empty they had all grouped here. But it seems as empty as the rest.”
Wyatt noticed the partially opened door, and the spots of red along it. Maybe it was rust, or cheap paint, but maybe-
“Lucy,” he called, pulling his gun and stepping closer. He pulled the second out of his other holster and passed it to Rufus. “Stay here. We're going to check this out.”
Her eyebrows immediately scrunched, paired incredulously with pursed lips. “What? Why do I have to stay out here?”
“Because I don't have another gun, and if what I think happened here did, you shouldn't see it. You faint at the sight of blood, right?” Lucy’s eyes widened, he remembered. Wyatt looked to Rufus and nodded at him as they began their treck to the cabin.
Lucy crossed her arms. When they were out of earshot, she began muttering under her breath. “Bullshit. Stay here, Lucy. You faint too much, Lucy. Hmph.”
She kept on a for another moment, muttering and pacing. Everything was quiet, too quiet, she turned to follow Wyatt and Rufus, to prove them wrong, when she suddenly felt someone wrap an arm around her, a gun pressed against her head.
“Don't. Make. A sound.” A gruff and unfamiliar voice ghosted into her ear.
Her heart beat so fast Lucy couldn't even feel it. Her eyes were wide and wild. She felt as though she were shaking and unable to move at the same time.
“What do you-” A click. Gun cocked and ready.
“I said not another word.” The gun felt modern, unlike the wooden under handle of the era. She knew now that he had to be one of Emma's agents.
“You are going to keep that pretty little mouth of yours shut and listen to my every word-”
There was another gun cocked, and Lucy shakingly opened one eye to see Wyatt standing there, his face emotionless.
“I suggest you release her and drop the gun.”
The guy laughed, and Lucy felt sick to her stomach, she had a feeling that sound would haunt her tonight.
“You’ll have to kill me, but wait, how could you do that without hurting-” A gunshot went off and Lucy was violently thrown away from the man, she vaguely heard herself scream. She looked over to see the man holding her, dead. He was older, slightly balding and was huge, and also had a huge hole in his neck from Wyatt’s shot.
The moment reminded her of their first mission, when Wyatt hit Flynn in the shoulder, barely missing her head. It took Wyatt only seconds for him to reach her. Her shoulder burned, and her mind couldn't seem to work, but her body was able to become controlled within his embrace.
“Lucy? Lucy are you alright?” He had one hand on her neck, putting her face in his shoulder, his other wrapped tightly around her waist, holding her tightly to him until her breath returned to her body and she nodded.
“F-fine..” She murmured before Wyatt pulled away. She tried to give a laugh, to lessen the tension, but winced.
“Where does it hurt?” He pulled away to scan her for imminent injuries, before noticed the red at her shoulder. His heart caught in his throat as he gently peeled away the cloth.
He gave a sigh. “Just a scrape. You'll be okay. You weren't shot.”
He slowly stroked back her hair from the area to catch a better look at it. “Yeah, you’ll be fine, barely a graze if anything.” He couldn’t stop himself from placing a quick kiss on her head, not thinking much about the action at the time, relief flooding through every cell in his body.
Lucy could truly say in that moment, despite the burning pain in her shoulder, she felt safe.
Wyatt gently pulled away from her and helped her stand up. “C’mon, I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
He slung her uninjured arm over his shoulder and walked with her to the cabin. Rufus was immediately at the door, concerned and pale.
“What the hell happened? Are you okay?” Lucy found herself with only enough energy to nod.
Wyatt helped her sit in a nearby chair, telling her to close her eyes. When she was able to open them again, she was facing a blank wall of wood. “One of Emma's people tried to kill her. He won't be a problem anymore, but her shoulder got grazed. She's still in shock I think.”
“It was my fault, if I just would have tried to figure out a better aim..” His voice trailed off, he wounded her. The bullet he shot grazed her shoulder. This was his fault. He felt sick.
Lucy tried to turn around, to tell him it wasn't his fault, that he saved her life. But as soon as she turned a scream burned it's way through her.
Nine bodies laid across the room, each with a dripping bullet hole in their head. Some held guns in their viced grips but some remained unarmed laying across the furniture.
She couldn't look away despite the churning in her stomach. Wyatt was by her side in a minute, practically picking her up and forcing her away from the bodies. “This is why I had you facing the wall Luce..” He murmured.
Lucy gulped what air she had left, the image of all those bodies burning in her mind. “A-are those the assassins?”
Rufus nodded, pale as he studied the corpses around the room. “They're all dead. Must have been done right before we got here.” He looked around the room with wide eyes. “What now?”
Lucy's hands were shaking, and she tried to keep bile from rising as she spoke. “This war happened because of Ferdinand's assassination. And we need to war to push for technology and human rights.”
Wyatt’s grip turned to ice on her arm. “You're saying we need to assassinate him?”
She slowly nodded, “I have a pretty strong feeling that Ferdinand isn’t dead, and without his death, who know’s what will happen. We need to kill him. We need to start World War One.” Her voice was grave as she looked at Wyatt and Rufus.
They didn’t want to, this was the worst outcome. It was assumed that Wyatt would be the one that would step up and do it, but it was actually Lucy. She pulled the gun from his holster as they arrived at the bridge.
“Lucy, are you sure you want too?” Wyatt murmured. He put a hand over her wrist. This wasn't supposed to fall to her.
Lucy nodded, holding the gun in her hand. The metal was so cold it burned. They watched as Ferdinand’s carriage slowly started by, him and his wife waving. Lucy took a deep breath, her hands shaking horribly. Wyatt stood behind her, before slowly placing his hands over hers.
“Aim a little lower than where you plan to shoot. When you shoot the bullet, the impact will force it a little higher.” He murmured into her ear. Slowly he moved away, but watched as she couldn’t stop shaking.
“Lucy, we’re running out of time. You have to shoot.” Rufus muttered as they watched the royal couple.
“I’m trying.” She whispered back frantically, trying to force herself to breathe. In and out.
“I-I can’t do it.” She got tears in her eyes, she couldn’t end two people’s lives.
The couple started to go by, the window of opportunity closing, if they didn’t do this, World War One wouldn’t happen. Wyatt cursed, taking the gun out of Lucy’s hands. He looked at the two targets, took a deep breath, his face turning neutral, then shot.
There was a scream, Ferdinand’s wife was shot. Rufus winced, but before any of them had time to truly react, Wyatt shot again, hitting Ferdinand. He placed the smoking gun inside of its holster. “We have to go.” His voice was emotionless, chilling Lucy to the bones. Already making his way out of the bushes they were hiding in.
He was quiet the whole walk back to the Lifeboat, caught up in his thoughts. Rufus and Lucy exchanged concerning looks.
Lucy gently grabbed his arm, making his eyes meet hers. “Wyatt, I’m so sorry. I should have sucked it up. I was just so-”
“It’s fine Lucy. It had to happen.” He cut her off, offering her a weak smile that didn’t meet his eyes, “Let’s just get home, yeah?”
She nodded at him, and they climbed in the Lifeboat. Wyatt, like the gentleman he was, helped her in her seat and buckled her seatbelt. Not another word was spoken in the lifeboat. Lucy was wondering if he was thinking of what his grandpa Sherwin would say. He was Wyatt’s role model, his father figure, a soldier, and Wyatt pretty much just started War World One because she was too scared. She wondered if he felt like he disappointed him.
Lucy hated when Wyatt was like this. She couldn’t read him, she couldn’t help him. As soon as they got back to 2017, Rufus debriefed Christopher, and they had found out that World War One still happened, but it wasn’t seven assassins. They had never caught the murderer that started the war, but blame arose to the Russians out of anti sentiment from Serbian territories.
Wyatt was quiet during this whole process, and it was finally over, he was the first one to stand up and walk into the changing rooms.
Lucy quickly followed after him, changing out of her own clothes, and then waiting for him by the men’s changing room door. When he came out, he glanced at her, and she tried hard to keep his gaze so she could try to figure out what was wrong with him. But deep down, she knew.
“Hey, you ready to go? I’ll drive.” She murmured, holding her hands out for his keys. Wyatt quietly handed her his keys as they walked out and got in his truck. Lucy backed them out before going down the road, but she had enough of the silence. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong now?”
She felt Wyatt’s ice blue eyes on her, then he sighed. “Just thinking about my grandpa.”
Lucy glanced at him quickly, before returning her eyes to the road, but she grabbed his hand off his lap, and squeezed.
“He wouldn’t be ashamed of you Wyatt. You did what you had to do. You helped save 2017. Who knows what might have happened if Ferdinand survived.”
Wyatt nodded, using his free hand to rub his head. “Thanks, Luce. I know.”
Lucy shot him a smile before slowly taking her hand back and pulling into Wyatt’s garage space.
“Alright, how about I order some pizza and we could watch um.. Star Wars or something.”
Wyatt chuckled. “You’ve never watched Star Wars?”
She shook her head with a smile. “Nope. Bits and pieces with Amy. She loved the fantasy stories. I loved documentaries more. Why don't you go turn it on, I’ll get the pizza.”
Wyatt smiled at her before heading into the living room. Lucy hurried up and ordered his favorite pizza, cheese with green olives, and walked back into the living room.
“Alright, it’ll be here soon. Tell me about why I’m going to love Star Wars.”
Wyatt grinned, not only did he tell her why Star Wars was amazing, he told her how it changes lives.
Needless to say, they were up till 2:00 in the morning, eating pizza and enjoying Star Wars; all seven movies. Lucy’s head fell on Wyatt’s chest, his own on her head as they slept with pizza crust still clutched in Lucy’s hand. It was paradise.
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